Ever hear the term “competitive analysis” and immediately feel a little overwhelmed? I get it. “Competitive” sounds stressful, and “analysis” sounds like it’ll take forever.
But here’s the good news: doing a competitive analysis doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In fact, it can be pretty simple—and it’s something you’ll want to do regularly if you want to keep up (or get ahead) in your industry.
In this post, I’ll walk you through a quick and easy five-step process to help you analyze your competition and use what you learn to grow your business. But before we jump in, let’s quickly cover what a competitive analysis actually is and why it matters.
What is a Competitive Analysis?
A competitive analysis is basically a way to compare your business with others in your space. The goal? To find out how you can stand out.
There’s no single way to do it—you can analyze your whole business, a specific product or service, a marketing channel, or even a campaign. And you can use the info to improve your marketing, launch new products, or break into a new market.
💡 Pro tip: Want to see how your Google Ads measure up to your competitors? Grab our free Google Ads Benchmarks to find out.
Also Read: Can Automation Tools Save SEO Time?
How to do a Competitive Analysis in 5 Simple Steps
These five steps can be used for almost any type of competitive analysis. Once you’ve got the basics down, you can even use our templates to make it easier!
1. Find Out Who Your Competitors are
First things first—you need to know who you’re actually competing with. And there are a few types to consider:
- Direct competitors: They offer the same product/service as you and solve the same problem.
- Indirect competitors: Their product/service is different but still solves the same problem.
- Replacement (or perceived) competitors: They offer something different, but your customers see it as a valid alternative.
Ways to identify competitors:
- Google your product or service and see who shows up in search results (including ads).
- Try tools like SimilarWeb, Semrush, or Ahrefs. They often have free versions you can use to get started.
- Check out review sites like Google Maps, Angi, G2, or Trustpilot—whatever fits your industry.
- Ask your customers who else they considered before choosing you.
Collect as many names as you can, then sort them into the categories above.
2. Check Out What Your Competitors are Offering
Knowing your competitors exist is great—but you need to dig into what they actually offer. Spend time on their websites and figure out their main products or services, plus any extras. Retail businesses? Look for bestsellers.
How to do it:
- Pretend to be a customer. Browse their site, ask questions in chat, or even call them.
- Read reviews. What products or services get mentioned the most?
- Compare pricing and packages to see how they stack up next to yours.
- Use those tools from earlier to see what keywords they’re bidding on.
Also Read: What do SEO Audit Tools Offer?
3. Understand Who they’re Targeting
Sure, you and your competitors might share a general audience—but there are always differences in who exactly they’re trying to reach. Try to go beyond basic demographics and look for more specific customer types or “personas.”
How to find this info:
- Read testimonials and case studies on their website. Note what kind of people or businesses are using their product.
- Check review sites for common pain points, values, or preferences.
- Browse their social media. Look at their content, who engages with it, and what kind of language or imagery they use.
Running paid ads? Use that same research to help you target similar audiences.
4. Study their Positioning and Messaging
Every company may sell something similar, but they each present it in a unique way. That’s their positioning (how they frame it) and messaging (the value they highlight). Understanding this helps you craft your own unique voice.
How to figure it out:
- Read their business descriptions on social profiles, review sites, and directories.
- Check their About page, mission statement, and values.
- Look for press releases—they often reveal a lot about how a brand sees itself.
- Subscribe to their blog or newsletter. Even just skimming can help you notice repeated themes or messages.
By now, you should be getting a feel for their main benefits, tone of voice, and what makes them different (or not so different).
Also Read: How to Use Google Analytics for SEO?
5. Bring it all together with a SWOT Analysis
Now that you’ve collected all this info, it’s time to make sense of it. A SWOT analysis is a simple way to organize what you’ve found.
SWOT stands for:
- Strengths: What are they doing well?
- Weaknesses: Where are they falling short?
- Opportunities: What external trends or gaps could give you an edge?
- Threats: What outside factors could hurt your position?
You can do a SWOT for your competitors and your own business. To make it easier, check out our guide and downloadable SWOT template (plus real examples for inspiration).
